RetroBrowse

RetroBrowse: vintage Apple II floppy disks streaming files into a modern macOS window and Mac

For Apple II disk images · macOS 14+

Browse the past.
Manage with the present.

A modern dual-pane file manager for ProDOS, DOS 3.3, UCSD Pascal, ShrinkIt and Binary II disk images — built natively in Swift & SwiftUI.

🗎 Mac App Store

Volume: RetroBrowse Type: Application macOS 14 Sonoma · Apple Silicon & Intel

Features

  • Dual-Pane BrowserWork with two disk images at once.
  • File InspectorView any file with ⌘ I or right-click.
  • Native ProDOSRead & write in pure Swift.
  • DOS 3.3Full read & write support.
  • UCSD PascalRead-only volume support.
  • ShrinkIt ArchivesBrowse, extract, create .shk / .sdk / .bxy.
  • Binary IIRead & write .bny / .bqy.
  • Drag & DropCopy between images or import from Finder.
  • Change File TypeRight-click to edit type & aux type.
  • 200+ File TypesComplete ProDOS file-type database.
  • Graphics PreviewHGR, DHGR, SHR and APF — inline.
  • Font PreviewApple IIgs fonts & hi-res screen fonts.
  • Icon PreviewIIgs Finder icons w/ palette & transparency.
  • BASIC ViewerSyntax-highlighted Applesoft & Integer.
  • Merlin Viewer6502 assembler with highlighting.
  • Disassembler6502 and 65816 machine code.
  • AppleWorksClassic & GS word, DB, spreadsheet.
  • Teach ViewerIIgs Teach docs — fonts, styles, color.
  • Dates & TimesProDOS create / modify timestamps.
  • ExportExtract files to your modern Mac.

Screenshots

Dual-pane file browser comparing two ProDOS volumes
Dual-pane browser — compare and copy between two ProDOS volumes side-by-side.
ASIMOV.ICONS Apple IIgs Finder icon file inspector
Icon inspector — preview IIgs Finder icons at 1×–8× with the 16-color palette and transparency.
Apple IIgs font file FUTURE.24 previewed with sample text and character map
Font viewer — rendered samples plus a complete character map for any IIgs FON file.
Apple IIgs Teach document viewer showing READ.ME.FIRST
Teach viewer — read styled IIgs Teach documents with original fonts, styles, and colors.
Apple IIgs Super Hi-Res graphics viewer showing VENUS.APF — Botticelli's Venus rendered in 320×200 SHR
Graphics viewer — Apple IIgs Super Hi-Res (APF) images rendered at 1×–4× with authentic 256-colour palette.
Apple IIgs Super Hi-Res Picture viewer showing P256.PIC — colourful Paint 256 graphic
SHR Picture viewer — 320×200 Super Hi-Res Paint 256 graphics with full dithering and palette fidelity.

Supported Formats

Disk Image Formats

FormatExtensionReadWrite
ProDOS Order.po●●
DOS Order.do●●
Universal 2IMG.2mg●●
Hard Disk Volume.hdv●●
Generic DSK.dsk●●
UCSD Pascal Volume.vol●○

Archive Formats

FormatExtensionReadWriteDescription
ShrinkIt Disk.sdk●●Compressed disk images
ShrinkIt Archive.shk●●Compressed file archives
Binary II + ShrinkIt.bxy●●Binary II wrapped ShrinkIt
Binary II.bny, .bqy●●Binary II archives
Gzip.gz●○Gzip compressed files
ZIP.zip●○ZIP archives

All archive formats are handled natively — no external tools required.

File Systems

File SystemReadWriteNotes
ProDOS●●Full support, including subdirectories
DOS 3.3●●Full support
UCSD Pascal●○Read-only
ShrinkIt Archives●●Native LZW compression
Binary II Archives●●Full support

Quick Start

  1. Open two disk images — one per pane.
  2. Browse files with full directory support.
  3. Press ⌘ I to inspect any file — BASIC, graphics, hex.
  4. Drag & drop files between images.
  5. Export files to your Mac.
  6. View Apple II graphics inline.

Current Limitations

  • UCSD Pascal volumes are read-only.
  • Gzip and ZIP archives are read-only.
  • Beta quality — expect bugs!

Requires: macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later · Apple Silicon or Intel.

Get RetroBrowse

Built with Swift and SwiftUI for modern macOS. MIT licensed. Contributions welcome.

🗎 Mac App Store

⚠︎ Always back up your disk images before using beta software.

Support & Contact

Questions, bug reports, or feature requests? Get in touch — replies usually within 1–2 business days.

Email: walter.tengler@gmail.com